Title: The Better Half
Disclaimer: Muahahahaha...you're gettin' NOTHING out of me.
Rating: PG-13 ( T ) – 'cuz of all the teenagers in it, duh. That and a touch of cursing and energetic kissing here or there.
Spoilers: Well, you could spoil your appetite if you eat too much candy, but I think the story's safe.

Summary: TwoShot. "So you're Saiyaman, huh?" GhVi, Pre-Blackmail.

Happy Halloween, everybody! n.n

(PS: This is for SweetestIrony. Theme – Cosplay.)

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Half

About an hour after the falling fiasco, the party was fully in progress. People were swarming everywhere inside the house; the living room, the dining room, the kitchen. A few people even tried to wander upstairs, but every time they did either Erasa or Videl (from somewhere out of sight down the hall) would scold them into going back down.

Erasa's scheme about pairing people up seemed to be working out just fine so far, too. Teenagers all around him were standing in pairs of two – one male and one female to each set – and giggling over their matching costumes. Those who didn't have a partner yet were eagerly watching the front door, waiting for their partner for the evening to arrive.

Though each of the ensembles chosen by the pair of hostesses hidden away upstairs was interesting in its own right, some of them were more clever than others. The peanut butter and jelly set was pretty nifty, for instance, as were the priest and nun pair (though he wasn't sure how dressing up as celibate religious figures was supposed to spark romantic feelings). There was also a bunny and carrot, cat and mouse, the king and queen of hearts, doctor and nurse, nickel and dime, plug and socket...there were too many to name, really.

Some of the costumes were of famous couples, too. Romeo and Juliet were there, as were Cathy and Heathcliff, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Adam and Eve and Antony and Cleopatra. Additionally, other characters such as George and Judy Jetson were in attendance, as were Fred and Wilma Flinstone. William Turner and Elizabeth Swan, Jack Skellington and Sally, Fred and Velma, King Kong and Ann Darrow, Batman and Catwoman...and so on and so forth. Just about any famous or popular couple you could think of was there, swarming about the refreshment table or checking out their music choices over by the stereo.

Of course, looking at other people's costumes made him wonder what his was supposed to be paired up with. Saiyaman didn't have a sidekick or love interest, as far as he knew, so who could Erasa have possibly paired him up with? There was really no telling...

Just as Gohan was about to chance potential embarrassment for a piece of cake (or twelve), movement from upstairs caught his attention. Lifting his head to get a better view, he saw Erasa and Videl emerge from the hallway, fully dressed in their assigned costumes.

His eyes skimmed right over his blonde classmate to fixate on his darker-haired one, who was slowly descending the staircase in low heels ("Heel to toe, heel to toe," Erasa reminded her as they walked).

As Gohan's eyes swept up the sloping curves of her body, the rest of her costume came into focus. It consisted of three parts: a skin-tight red skirt, a matching baggy, sleeveless shirt that was cinched at the top with a turtleneck and a short black cape. Her other accessories completed the full ensemble, making it fairly obvious what she was supposed to be; the pronged staff she carried and the pointy-tipped belt meant to look like a tail were the most obvious clues. The pointed buns she had formed on either side of her head were more subtle, but he supposed they must be horns.

"You're the devil," Gohan correctly observed as she finally made it down to the last stair.

"Yeah," Videl affirmed, her crimson-painted lips spreading into a small smile. She seemed almost shy about it, though it was difficult to say whether she was blushing or not beneath her makeup. "Erasa-chan went a little overboard, though, I think."

"Stop complaining," Erasa scolded, reminding Gohan of her presence. "You look great."

"I look stupid," Videl countered, turning her head to frown directly at her friend.

Before Erasa could pose another argument, Gohan interjected, "I think you look nice."

"Oh...thanks."

Eager to change the subject before he started blushing again, Gohan turned to Erasa and guessed, "And you're a...princess?"

The blonde giggled behind a gloved hand before responding, "Close. I'm Cinderella, silly!" To illustrate her point, she lifted her full blue skirt a few inches off the ground and stuck her left foot out. It was adorned by a clear plastic shoe with a tiny silver ribbon on the top.

"Oh...right," Gohan said. He'd never watched many Disney movies growing up, but he recalled the basics of the original fairy tale of Cinderella. Some of them were more gruesome than others, but they often involved some special form of footwear (sometimes fur, sometimes glass).

Lowering her skirt back to the floor, Erasa asked, "Say, you haven't seen my Prince Charming anywhere, have you?"

"I don't think so," Gohan replied, making a quick scan of the room just in case he'd missed him. Nope, no princely-looking characters present. "Sorry."

"Well, if you spot him, let me know."

"Sure."

Throughout his brief conversation with Erasa, Gohan found his gaze continuously flickering to Videl. He just couldn't reconcile with all of the things he had been noticing about her in the past couple of hours; first, she was cute. Then, she was a helpless damsel. Now, she was...feminine. It was like he'd never noticed before that she was a girl, even though it seemed so obvious at the present.

Well, he'd always known she was a girl (how blind did you have to be to overlook that?), but she'd just never seemed like a real girl. Not a girl like his mom or Bulma or Erasa, but a different sort altogether.

That said, he felt it would be pretty strange to see Videl dressed up in such a way on a consistent basis. It was kind of nice for a change, but she just seemed so...different this way. In some respects, the change was positive; she sure looked pretty, for instance, even if her makeup was plastered on a little thick. In others, the outfit was just so not Videl that it almost disturbed him. Besides, if the strained look on her features was any indication, she was highly uncomfortable in it and that took away from the entire illusion of beauty. In Gohan's opinion, this costume was nothing in comparison to how she looked in her normal, every day clothes when she was simply herself.

"What?" Videl asked, leveling a suspicious glare at him as she simultaneously tugged at the hem of her skirt. "Is there something on my face, or what?"

Looking away immediately, Gohan stammered, "N-No, you just look so...different. I can't get used to it, is all."

"Good," said Videl as Erasa smacked her hands away from her outfit. "Because you'll probably never see me like this again. Enjoy it while you can."

"She's no fun, is she, Gohan-kun?" Erasa complained, turning to Gohan for support.

Unfortunately, Gohan couldn't offer any. The level of discomfort that Videl seemed to be experiencing completely belied the effect that he was sure Erasa had been hoping for, making it a fairly useless exercise in the end. "I think she looks good in what she usually wears."

"Not you, too!" exclaimed Erasa, throwing her hands dramatically up in the air with an angry huff.

Videl, seeming to get a touch of her own spark back, turned her head to grin at her best friend and personal fashionista. "See?"

"Oh, you're impossible!"

As Erasa stalked away, presumably to pour herself some punch while she steamed, Videl returned her attention to Gohan. She even bestowed him with a smile (it was somewhat reminiscent of her smirk, but a smile it was). "At least someone's on my side," she confided with a small chuckle.

Gohan spread a grin across his face and, praying to any gods listening that he wasn't about to make a fool of himself, broached a new topic of conversation; "So, you drew the devil, huh? Does that mean you'll be paired with – "

"Omigod!" someone squealed from behind him, stopping Gohan mid-sentence. He turned to locate the cause of the high-pitched disturbance and found the redheaded girl from his English class standing behind him. "I've got Gohan-kun!"

"Huh?" was all Gohan could say in reply as the girl latched onto his right arm. He was totally confused by this new turn of events and was sure that it showed on his face.

"You're my partner, silly!" the redhead proclaimed, reaching up on her tiptoes to flutter her eyelashes right in his face.

Highly uncomfortable with the abrupt invasion of his personal space, Gohan leaned away from her, particularly wary of the puckered lips that were looming just a little too close to his cheek. "I am?"

"Um, duh. You're Saiyaman and I'm Videl," she pointed out, releasing his arm just long enough to step back and give him a good view of her costume. She did, in fact, look as if she'd raided Videl's closet before coming to the party, dressed as she was in a baggy white T-shirt, black spandex shorts and a pair of practical boots. "I was totally ew about this costume when I picked it, but now that I know you're my partner, it's all good! I've always thought you were, like, really cute." To emphasize her statement, she latched onto his arm again, pressing her plush bosom against his elbow.

"Ex-cuse me," Videl interjected, stepping completely away from the staircase to confront the girl. "We were talking, d'you mind?"

"Eee!" the girl cried, positioning herself behind Gohan so that he was between the two bickering females. Peeking out around his bicep, she demanded, "What's, like, with you? Gohan-kun is my partner, get your own!"

Visibly bristling as a blush swept across her face, Videl demanded, "Why the hell are you dressed up like me anyway, Angela? I figured you'd hemorrhage without a skirt and heels."

"Duh," the redhead replied, sticking her tongue out at Videl from her safehaven behind Gohan. "I drew it out of the bag."

Videl was turning redder and redder every passing second, but Gohan highly doubted it had anything to do with embarrassment any longer. "Erasa," she grumbled to herself, a growl bubbling up from her throat.

"C'mon, Gohan-kun," Angela pleaded, tugging on her assigned date's arm. "Let's, like, go dance, or something, and leave miss cranky pants here to scare the trick-or-treaters."

"Why, you – "

"Wow, you look hot tonight, Videl," a new voice interrupted as a bulky arm descended upon the fuming teen's shoulders.

"Watch out, Sharpener-kun," Angela warned the newcomer. "She probably bites, or something."

Winking at all present, the blond jock – who was dressed up like an angel to compliment Videl's devil costume – responded, "Ooh, I could get into that." As he said so, the gold-foil halo that was suspended above his cranium by a metal hanger wire slipped to the side and dangled there askew, tangled in his flaxen locks.

Swatting his hand off of her shoulder, Videl spat, "I'd rather get you into a coffin."

The unwanted appendage was removed from her person for only a few seconds before it was back, this time looped around her waist. "Only if there's enough room for you."

"Go drown in the bobbing for apples tub, why don't you?"

"Can't, Adam's trying to fetch one for Eve right now. Want to go find some privacy?"

"Not if you were the last angel in my personal Hell, Sharpener."

"Come on," Angela insisted again, pulling harder on the arm she still clutched within her grasp. "I want to dance, let's go!"

Gohan was tempted to resist, but couldn't think of a good excuse to stay in Videl's company now that she had her date. Thus, he allowed himself to be led away from her, looking over his shoulder more than once as he was dragged toward the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the livingroom.

"Ooh! I love this song!" Angela exclaimed, beginning to bob up and down to the beat of the music echoing against the walls.

Gohan felt a large bead of sweat drip down the side of his face as she started mouthing the lyrics enthusiastically. "Great...that's nice."

"Uh-oh," his assigned date said, stopping suddenly to point at something out on the dance floor. It was Erasa and she was being propositioned by her "Prince Charming" right in the middle of the action. She looked none too happy about it, either. "Looks like Paper-kun is Erasa-chan's other half tonight," Angela quipped, giggling behind her hand.

Sure enough, the orange-haired boy with glasses that sat below them in science class was standing next to Erasa, turning on the charm. He was decked out in an incredibly detailed Prince Charming outfit that almost rivaled his date's dress, complete with a shiny, jewel-encrusted crown on top of his head.

Erasa looked disgusted with her "other half," however, and kept her nose turned up at him. 'Gosh, that's a shame,' Gohan thought to himself absently. 'Paper-san is such a nice guy.'

"Eww...poor Erasa-chan!" Angela sympathized, pulling Gohan forward again. "She ended up with the biggest dork in class! How gross!"

"What's wrong with Paper-san?" Gohan had to ask, confused at the logic his date seemed to be utilizing.

She turned her bushy head slightly to give him an absurdly disgusted look. "Are you serious? He's a total nerd! If I'd ended up with him I'd, like, kill myself!"

Gohan frowned a little at the dramatic statement, but didn't respond. Who was he to try and understand why that made such a decent guy undesirable to the opposite sex? He sure had no idea what girls thought about stuff like that.

As they made it to the very edge of the space where his fellow classmates were cutting a rug (literally, in some cases; boy, would Erasa's mother be mad when the family returned home the following Monday), he took another peek behind him and caught sight of something that deeply gratified him. Sharpener had, apparently, been brave enough to put his arm around Videl's shoulder again and lean in for a kiss, but she'd thwarted him by grabbing hold of his wrist and using his own body weight to flip him. As he laid there on the ground in the foyer, Videl stepped over him and disappeared into the next room.

For some reason, Gohan couldn't help but grin at the spectacle. 'Ha,' he thought.

—

"Gohan-kun! Where'd you go? Gohan-kun!"

Not tempted even in the slightest to answer Angela's call, Gohan ducked down behind the isle in the middle of the kitchen to avoid being spotted by his redheaded huntress. He could see her shadow moving along the white plaster wall in the corridor, inching ever closer to his pathetic hiding spot...

As she stopped momentarily to ask someone she passed, "Hey, have you seen Gohan-kun anywhere? He said he was going to the bathroom real quick and never came back," the demi-Saiyan prodigy decided to make a break for the pantry off to his left.

One...

...two...

...THREE!

Without quite using superhuman speed, he dashed across the linoleum floor to his new safety zone. He skidded a little as he attempted to stop, just barely preventing himself from running into the wall. Grabbing hold of the doorknob just as Angela could be heard saying, "Okay...thanks anyway," he whipped it open and dove into the darkened space within.

Closing off the world outside was a relief to Gohan who leaned against the back of the slatted door and heaved a heavy sigh. What was with girls, anyway? They were all so...clingy. And loud. And their perfume...yuck! It gave him a headache just to remember the scent Angela had apparently bathed herself in that day.

"Hey!"

Jumping to attention at the sound of the hissing whisper, Gohan fell into a reflexive fighting stance. It was a stupid thing to do, he decided seconds later, considering none of his peers could possibly pose a physical threat to him, but years of training with his green mentor had taught him it was better to be safe than dead.

His hidden adversary, whoever it was, continued, "Get out of here! This is my hiding space!"

Slowly lowering his fists as recognition dawned, Gohan uttered a whispered querie, "Videl-san?"

"Gohan-kun?" the person replied, emerging from the dark corner in the back of the pantry into the dim light that was filtering through the gaps in the door. Sure enough, it was Videl, sans her cape and pitchfork. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were off showing her your stupid dance moves."

Glad that the shadows were probably hiding the embarrassed pink tint in his cheeks, Gohan reached his hand around to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh...uh...yeah, I was, but we kinda got...separated."

"You escaped, you mean?"

"...yeah," he had to admit, dropping his hand down to his side. "So, where's Sharpener-san?"

Videl shivered a little before answering, "When he came to on the welcome mat, he started looking for me. I've already had as much of him as I can stand for the night, so I ran off to find a hiding spot. I've been in here for a half hour already, waiting for him to give up and go hit on someone else."

"Yikes...,"

"Oh, Sharpener-kun! Have you seen Gohan-kun, by any chance?" Angela – who had, apparently, not left the kitchen yet – asked.

Sharpener's voice responded, "Braniac? Nope. D'you know where Videl is?"

"Probably eating somebody's kitten, or something."

"She can eat a whole bagful of them for all the hell I care. Anybody as hot as her can do anything they want."

Stepping closer to the door to peer through the open slats, Videl cursed violently when what she saw apparently displeased her. "It's them!" she announced, flicking her periwinkle-hued eyes at Gohan for a second. Once her address was finished, however, she returned them to the surveillance of the goings-on of the world outside of their little cubby hole.

Such close proximity to Videl was making him uncomfortable in a way that was quite different from the uneasiness he'd experienced with Angela invading his personal space. Instead of a sickening queasy feeling, it felt as if all of his nerve endings were suddenly super sensitive to the touch.

"V-Videl-san," he tried to plead, pressing himself as far into his corner as he possibly could. Despite being very lean, however, his body was still large by the average person's standards, which meant that there was very little room left for him to maneuver in.

"Shh!" Videl scolded, apparently unaffected by the situation like he was. "They'll hear you!"

Biting his lip to keep from moaning as she shifted herself closer to him, Gohan squirmed against the shelving unit behind him. He was snipped at again for making too much noise, but it was hard to help it considering that anytime her ribs expanded or contracted with her breathing, her torso brushed against his stomach. This simple motion was causing the tingly sensation to pool in the southern regions of his body and making him want to writhe and squirm even more. Strangely, the greatest reaction wasn't in his stomach, but in –

"Hey, maybe they're in the pantry. Nerd-boy was ogling the food table earlier like it was some chick with her tits hangin' out."

"Or maybe your date is in there. She sure doesn't look like she lays off the carbs any."

"Whatever, let's check."

"Shit!" Videl complained with a hiss, grabbing hold of the doorknob as it began to rattle and quiver.

Unsure of what else to do, Gohan braced himself against the wooden portal in support of Videl's barrier.

"It opens outward!" Videl reminded him, staring in horror at the small crack of light forming between the frame and the door. Yanking hard, she pulled it shut with a loud bang. "Shit!"

"Somebody's totally in there!"

"No shit, sherlock."

"Get it open, get it open!"

"I'm trying! Whoever's in there is fucking strong, okay?"

Videl seemed to be having a hard time getting a good grip on the knob as it kept slipping in and out of her sweaty grasp. On the other side of the door, Sharpener was yanking erratically on it, making it even more difficult for her to hold on.

"D'you want me to try?"

"What can you do, red?"

"I don't see you getting it open!"

"Shut up and let me work, okay?"

Suddenly, the door gave an almighty jerk and the knob fell completely out of Videl's grasp, sending her stumbling backwards into Gohan's quickly extended arms. The two on the outside hadn't gained entry yet, but now there was nothing to bar them from it.

Videl's eyes widened with utter panic as the knob successfully twisted and the door began to slowly fall open. Against the florescent lighting of the kitchen, two silhouettes stood blocking them in.

Gohan was tempted to pick Videl bodily off the floor and make a run for it, but she, apparently, had another plan in mind. While the two shadowy teens squinted into the darkness from the doorway, the crime fighting devil in his arms reached up and took hold of him. With a surprising amount of force from such a tiny frame, she dragged Gohan's head down to hers and mashed their lips together in a bruising frenzy.

"EWW!" Angela complained with a squeal as the scene inside the pantry was properly revealed to the world outside.

Sharpener's sentiments were much the same; "Ugh...there are bedrooms upstairs, guys."

Gohan only registered their disgust and the slamming of the pantry door in the back of his mind, however, as the feeling of Videl's mouth on his grew softer and more flexible against his own. He responded in kind, opening up to allow the tongue lapping at his lips inside.

Nearly forgetting his own strength, Gohan lifted Videl off her feet and stepped across the small space to lean her back against the shelving. Her legs found their way around his waist and she locked her ankles, keeping her aloft even without his help.

Finally pulling away from him after a long and intense liplock, Videl gasped for air. Her chest heaved against his as she fought to catch her breath, eyes glazed and watery as she stared at him. "Gohan...," she said, her voice deep and husky.

"Videl," Gohan replied, leaning in to take the initiative this time.

—

Half an hour later, the pair stumbled back out into the livingroom, Gohan feeling positive that he looked as dazed as he felt. He'd almost lost his virginity in someone's kitchen pantry, he'd come to realize, and the memories of the event were sure to take awhile to fade. The demi-Saiyan teen was fairly certain that he wouldn't sleep all night (heck, if he managed to fall unconscious even once all weekend, it would be a miracle).

"What's with him?" Erasa – who was off in the corner of the room seated side-saddle across her Prince Charming's lap – asked, addressing Videl but looking straight past her at Gohan.

Tucking her now freed hair behind her ear, the blushing Videl replied, "He's...uh...yeah."

"What?" queried the blonde, looking at both of her friends in a funny, disbelieving way. Paper's lipstick-peppered face leaned around her to catch a glimpse of what was going on.

"Ask Angela and Sharpener. I'm going home."

— — —

Author's Note: Fun fact, I got the idea from this story from a Captain Morgan commercial XD Y'know, the one where the guys all go get costumes to match up with the hot girls at a party? Yeah...inspiration can come from anywhere, kids.

I'll...uh...maybe fix the ending later. It sounds a little weird to me.

Btw, this story took me a good chunk of TWO DAYS to finish, guys, so please drop a review. I think I earned it n.n; If not for the quality, then the quantity involved, hehe.

. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .

– Who's your daddy? GohanVidel